Hotels in Wagga Wagga, Australia

A little about Wagga Wagga...

Wagga Wagga is a city in New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, Wagga with an urban population of 44,272 people, is the state's largest and the country's fifth largest inland city, as well as an important agricultural, military, educational and transport hub of Australia. The city is located midway between the two largest cities in Australia, Sydney and Melbourne, and is the major regional centre for the Riverina and South West Slopes regions.

The central business district is focused around the commercial and recreational grid bounded by Best and Tarcutta Streets and the Murrumbidgee River and the Sturt Highway. The main shopping street of Wagga is Baylis Street which becomes Fitzmaurice Street at the northern end. The city is located in an alluvial valley and much of the city has a problem with urban salinity. Wagga Wagga has four distinct seasons, with warm to hot summers and cold winters by Australian standards. Mean annual rainfall in Wagga Wagga in 557.5 millimetres and is distributed evenly over the twelve months.

The original inhabitants of the Wagga Wagga region were the Wiradjuri people. In 1829, Charles Sturt became the first European explorer to visit the future site of the city. Squatters arrived soon after, leading to conflict with the indigenous inhabitants. The town, positioned on the site of a ford across the Murrumbidgee, was surveyed and gazetted as a village in 1849 and the town grew quickly after. In 1870, the town was gazetted as a municipality.

During the negotiations leading to the federation of the Australian colonies, Wagga Wagga was considered as a potential capital for the new nation. During World War I the town was the starting point for the Kangaroo recruitment march. The Great Depression and the resulting hardship saw Wagga Wagga become the centre of a secession movement for the Riverina region. Wagga Wagga became a garrison town during World War II with the establishment of a military base at Kapooka and Royal Australian Air Force bases at Forest Hill and Uranquinty. After the war, Wagga Wagga was proclaimed as a city in 1946 and new suburbs were developed to the south of the city. In 1982 the city was amalgamated with the neighbouring Kyeamba and Mitchell Shires to form the City of Wagga Wagga local government area.

Wagga Wagga is the seat of a Roman Catholic diocese, with its principal church being St Michael's Cathedral.

Wagga attracts people from all over the Riverina and southwestern New South Wales to its shopping facilities. Wagga's shopping centres include two notable centres of metropolitan standards, Wagga Wagga Marketplace and Sturt Mall in the central business district, and suburban shopping centres such as the new South City Shopping Centre in Glenfield Park, the Lake Village Shopping Centre, Lake Albert, the Tolland Shopping Centre and Kooringal Mall in Kooringal. Wagga also has a large Home Base located on the Sturt Highway. Wagga's central business district, with both Baylis and Fitzmaurice Streets and other surrounding streets, offers hundreds of specialty retailers including national chains such as Big W, Myer and Target Country. The dairy company Fonterra (Formerly Murrumbidgee Dairy Products[38]), is based on the Sturt Highway which is a supplier of dairy products in the Riverina, Other major industries include Cargill and Heinz which are located in the suburb of Bomen.

Education: The sole provider of higher education in Wagga Wagga is the local campus of the multi-campus Charles Sturt University, located on the outskirts of the suburb of Estella.

Transport: Fearnes provides bus services from most Wagga Wagga suburbs to the CBD from Mondays to Saturdays with no services on Sunday or public holidays. Wagga Radio Cabs run taxis 24/7 in the city with taxi ranks located at Station Place, Forsyth Street, Gurwood Street, Wagga Wagga Base Hospital and Kooringal Mall.

Wagga Wagga railway station is located on the Sydney-Melbourne railway line with twice daily XPT fast rail services provided by CountryLink, the state owned passenger rail service.

Wagga Wagga Airport at Forest Hill has scheduled daily flights to Sydney and Melbourne through two carriers, Regional Express and QantasLink.

The 5 o'clock wave is a fictional theory on the reasons for Wagga Wagga's sporting success. According to the local urban myth, at precisely 5 o'clock arrives a giant wave which flushes a secret nutrient into the Murrumbidgee River following the release of water from the Blowering and Burrinjuck Dams. The wave is said to continue down river at high speed, and indeed visitors are told it is so powerful that surfers can ride it along the meandering river until it reaches the town of Narrandera.

The Murrumbidgee River at Wagga Wagga forms into a large sandy beach, and is a popular location for swimming, picnics and barbecues during the warmer months. Visitors and local residents still take every opportunity during the warmer months to float down the river from the area known as "The Rocks" located some 600 metres upstream from the main beach area. River cruises also operate on the Murrumbidgee.